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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29728374">Why Not Approach With Less Defiance?</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/therumandcokediaries/pseuds/therumandcokediaries'>therumandcokediaries</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Even A Mandalorian... / Blue Moves [3]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Star Wars - All Media Types, The Mandalorian (TV)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Blood, Blood and Injury, Clan of two, Din Djarin Needs a Hug, Din Djarin Removes the Helmet, F/M, Friendship, Gen, Good Parent Din Djarin, Hurt Din Djarin, Hurt/Comfort, Injury, Touch-Starved Din Djarin, Uncertainty, almost Din x Peli hence the included tag, grumpy din djarin</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-02-27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-02-27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-15 19:49:51</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>3,420</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29728374</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/therumandcokediaries/pseuds/therumandcokediaries</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Even A Mandalorian needs help with first aid sometimes.</p>
<p>Din arrives on Tatooine injured and in need of assistance, but he won't accept any help without putting up a fight first. </p>
<p>(Hinted/Sparks of Din x Peli)</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Din Djarin &amp; Grogu | Baby Yoda, Din Djarin &amp; Peli Motto, Din Djarin/Peli Motto</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Even A Mandalorian... / Blue Moves [3]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/2183292</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>46</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Why Not Approach With Less Defiance?</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Three fics in three days? After so many months of not writing, this is definitely me on a roll!</p>
<p>I'd really appreciate feedback for this fic, as I'm still toying with some of the ideas and I love hearing people's comments! Thank you for reading! (Also bear in mind my Star Wars knowledge is definitely not up to scratch, so there's probably a few things out of place here)</p>
<p>(Also if anyone has any ideas/requests/concepts, I'd be interested/happy to hear them)</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>- </p>
<p>The sight of the Razor Crest landing at Hangar 3-5 had become somewhat familiar to Peli Motto. It didn't look in bad condition either, so at least any repairs could probably be done fairly quickly. She wondered if the pilot would stick around for a drink.</p>
<p>"Good to see you again" she said to the Mandalorian who stepped out of the ship. "How are you doing? And how's <em>this </em>little guy?"</p>
<p>"He's fine" Din said, holding the child close to his chest. "He seems happy to see you"</p>
<p>"He's my little friend! Aren't you, bright eyes? Have you missed me? I've missed <em>you</em>!"</p>
<p>Din watched her cooing over the child. She seemed pleased at the opportunity to dote on him. That was, until she noticed something drip onto the child's collar. Something red. She paused, and a few more drips confirmed her suspicions.</p>
<p>"Is that coming from you?"</p>
<p>"It's nothing" Din said, adjusting his hold on Grogu to stop him from getting dripped on again.</p>
<p>Peli didn't look as though she believed him. She reached up a hand and touched him under the chin briefly. </p>
<p>"Doesn't seem like nothing to me" she said, looking at her bloodied hand. "You must be gushing blood under there"</p>
<p>"I need you to look at one of my turbines: it keeps fritzing out"</p>
<p>"How about we get you sorted first? Take your helmet off and let me take a look at you"</p>
<p>"Don't be ridiculous"</p>
<p>"How is that ridiculous?"</p>
<p>"I'm a Mandalorian: you know I can't take my helmet off in front of you"</p>
<p>"Even if you're hurt? Why not?"</p>
<p>"I just can't" Din said. "This is the way"</p>
<p>"Well, if 'the way' means you have to put your health at risk to keep your face hidden, I'd say <em>that's </em>ridiculous" Peli said. "I'm not going to broadcast it to the galaxy; I just wanna make sure you're alright"</p>
<p>"Just look at my turbines" he huffed, turning on his heel and going back into the Crest.</p>
<p>Peli followed him, not ready to give up so easily. Din sighed irritably and turned to her.</p>
<p>"What?"</p>
<p>"Can I see the kid?"</p>
<p>It wasn't what Din was expecting. He nodded warily and passed Grogu to her. She smiled at him, fussing him again, holding him under the arms and kissing his little wrinkly forehead. Grogu crowed happily, always glad of a fuss. She set him down in the sleeping area and closed the hatch.</p>
<p>"Hey! What are you doing?"</p>
<p>"Getting him out of the way" she said. "Now take your helmet off"</p>
<p>"No" he choked and coughed slightly, causing more blood to dribble from under his helmet in an impressive waterfall effect.</p>
<p>"Did you just cough that up?!"</p>
<p>"Of course not" Din snapped. "It's just my nose. Mind your own business"</p>
<p>"Stop being so defiant. Sit down"</p>
<p>"Stop trying to boss me around. This isn't worth a fight"</p>
<p>"It's not worth you collapsing from blood loss either"</p>
<p>Din scowled behind his helmet. "Stop interfering"</p>
<p>"Stop making this so difficult"</p>
<p>"Instead of interrogating me, why don't you put your efforts into learning what the word 'no' means?"</p>
<p>"You're leaving me little choice, Mando"</p>
<p>"Why, what are you going to do?" he scoffed. "Throw a spanner at me?"</p>
<p>There was a pause, and then Peli lunged at him, making him jump. She grabbed his arms and hooker her foot round one of him, pulling it out from under him. Din sat in shock where he landed, frozen purely in surprise. He leant his back against the sleeping area, looking up at Peli. He went to get up.</p>
<p>"You stay <em>right </em>where you are, Mando!" she shouted.</p>
<p>Din did as he was told. Peli was a formidable woman: he had a feeling continuing with his defiance would be more trouble than it was worth. He watched her carefully as she gathered the first aid kit, along with a bowl of warm water and a flannel, and a few other things. Her confidence was almost annoying, he thought as he watched her set everything down beside him. Hopefully she'd just leave him to it now.</p>
<p>"Ok, let's take a look at you"</p>
<p>She knelt down beside him and went to take off his helmet. Din grabbed her wrists.</p>
<p>"I said no"</p>
<p>"I'm not going to leave you bleeding like this. It's still dripping off your beskar"</p>
<p>"It's nothing. I told you"</p>
<p>"I don't believe you" she said, but her voice softened. "Come on, Mando. You need to be fighting fit for your kid, don't you?"</p>
<p>"I could lay out any bandit just as well like this"</p>
<p>"You keep telling yourself that" she rested a hand under his chin for a moment and then held it up in front of him. "That's not a good amount of blood. You need patching up, whether you like it or not"</p>
<p>"That's not your decision to make"</p>
<p>"Stop being so stubborn. Come on, Mando! Just let me take care of you"</p>
<p>"I can't. I can't show my face to another living thing"</p>
<p>"Who would know?" she sighed, lowered her hands. Din still kept hold of her wrists. "Is it really that important? What hold do they have over you?"</p>
<p>"I swore myself to the creed. I'd have died along with my parents if the Mandalorian's hadn't saved me. I was a foundling" he admitted. "I owe them my life"</p>
<p>"Haven't you already gone against those teachings to some extent? Isn't that how you ended up with him?" She nodded towards the hatch of the sleeping area.</p>
<p>"...That's different"</p>
<p>"Not to me. If you're willing to risk it to save a child, can't you risk it to save yourself? It's just us, and I'll be paying more attention to your injuries anyway. I want to help you. I'm your friend, even if you're not mine"</p>
<p>"You said that last time"</p>
<p>"Let me help you, Mando"</p>
<p>Din closed his eyes, wrestling with his thoughts. He could pull his blaster, scare her off that way. But she was his friend, and he didn't really want to hurt her. She meant well, didn't she? But he wasn't allowed to take his helmet off in front of anyone. He'd had it drilled into him, he knew that, but that didn't mean the thought of letting someone see him didn't make him feel sick. Bad... But like Peli said, he wasn't exactly a model Mandalorian anymore anyway, and she was basing that only on partial facts. Did it really matter that much? Yes, of course it did. Wait, no, it didn't. Did it? He swallowed hard. His head really hurt, and not just from this internal struggle.</p>
<p>"Let go of me, Mando"</p>
<p>Din opened his eyes and let go of her wrists.</p>
<p>"Thank you. Now, are you gonna let me help you?"</p>
<p>Din stayed quiet, watching her carefully. She shifted and placed her hands on his helmet, making him flinch slightly. She waited for him to be still again and then carefully lifted his helmet. Din blinked a little and forced himself to look at her. For a moment they just looked at each other. He fancied he could see her thoughts flickering in her eyes. They always said the eyes were the windows to the soul, but they didn't seem to be showing the clarity he wished they would. He wanted to know what was going through her head. He knew what was going through his: he felt sick, his heart was thudding so hard that it hurt, and he kind of wanted to melt into the wall and cease to exist. He never should have let her do this. He should get up, knock her back, grab his helmet... But the truth was, he couldn't bring himself to move so much as a finger.</p>
<p>Peli looked away for a moment, squeezing the excess water out of the flannel. She shifted position slightly. </p>
<p>"Right" she said gently. "Let's get you sorted, ok?"</p>
<p>Din turned his head away instinctively when she raised the flannel. She sighed quietly, putting a finger on his bloody chin and tilting his head back to face her. She pushed his hair back firmly from his face, making him gasp a little.</p>
<p>"I'll be gentle. Keep still"</p>
<p>Din fixed his eyes on her, intent on watching every slight move. She began dabbing the blood from his nose and he let out a tiny whimper despite himself, flinching a little and screwing his eyes up in pain.</p>
<p>"Alright. I know it hurts" she sighed. "It doesn't look like it wants to stop bleeding just yet"</p>
<p>She grabbed a clean rag and held it to his nose. Din kept his eyes on her, trying not to react or show any emotion. She cleared her throat, and he got the hint and held the rag himself, pressing a little to help stem the bleeding. Peli nodded slightly. '<em>If looks could kill!</em>' she thought, but didn't dare say it. She understood that this was a big thing for him, and she didn't want to provoke his volatility. She could put on a good show in a bar fight, but she knew she was no match for a real warrior, and she didn't want to take the risk and showcase that fact.</p>
<p>Once Din's nose had stopped bleeding, the set the now-mostly-red rag aside and resumed cleaning the blood from his face with the flannel.</p>
<p>"Are you hurt anywhere else?"</p>
<p>Din didn't say anything, scowling at her.</p>
<p>"Very helpful, thanks" </p>
<p>Din's look darkened. Maybe it was petty power-play, or his way of reminding her that he didn't want to be in this situation, but she couldn't help seeing the funny side of it. She tried, somewhat unsuccessfully, to disguise the laugh that slipped out with a cough. Din's eyes narrowed further for a moment, only for him to flinch when Peli pressed a little too hard on the cut on his forehead.</p>
<p>"Sorry. Nearly done. At least you've stopped bleeding now. Mostly"</p>
<p>She washed the blood from his neck and under his chin, finishing off with one last dab at the man's nose.</p>
<p>"There"</p>
<p>She set the flannel aside and picked up a small towel. Din flinched and grabbed her arm when she started drying his face, but she wouldn't be deterred, carefully patting his skin with the towel. His grip slowly loosened and he let go of her. She was gentle, and as much as he hated to admit it, he was quite enjoying being touched. Even though it was painful, it was hard to fight against her too much. She gave his neck a quick rub with the towel and set it down. Din watched her hands closely as she opened a small bottle and poured some of the contents onto a cotton dressing pad. He could smell the strong antiseptic scent already, and he didn't especially want it any closer to him. Peli screwed the cap back onto the bottled and dabbed at Din's nose.</p>
<p>"Ow!! That hurts!"</p>
<p>"Stay still, Mando!" Peli tutted, secretly relieved to hear him speaking again.</p>
<p>"It <em>stings</em>!"</p>
<p>"Don't be such a baby" she said, shielding his eyes to stop any antiseptic getting in them as she dabbed the large cut on his forehead. "It needs doing"</p>
<p>Din sucked his breath, instinctively flinching away from her. Peli sighed, feigning annoyance. </p>
<p>"Stop squirming! It'll be over a lot sooner if you'd just hold still. You're lucky these cuts aren't too deep. I'm still going to put paper stitches on this one" she wiped the cut on his forehead again, squeezing a little liquid from the cotton pad.</p>
<p>"OW! You did that on purpose!"</p>
<p>"Don't be ridiculous" she said, but she smiled.</p>
<p>Din looked at her, not sure how to react to that. He stayed as still as he could while she cleaned the rest of his cuts and applied paper stitches to the worst of them. </p>
<p>"There" she ran her fingers through his hair, but soon stopped and puller her hand back, now bloodied once again. "I thought you said you weren't hurt anywhere else!"</p>
<p>"Technically, I didn't say anything" Din huffed.</p>
<p>"Helpful. Really" she frowned. "Let me see"</p>
<p>She didn't really give him a choice, pulling on his collar to make him lean forward and adjusting her position so she could get a good look at the back of his head. She sighed, picking up the flannel and washing the blood away.</p>
<p>"Just a scratch, really" she said. "Hold <em>still</em>!"</p>
<p>She poured antiseptic onto another cotton pad and dabbed at the back of his neck. </p>
<p>"Ow! Hey! I thought you said you'd be gentle!"</p>
<p>"Stop making such a silly fuss" she scolded, pressing harder for a second just to make a point. "I'll be done in a minute"</p>
<p>She finished up and let go of him. He made a grab for his helmet, but she snatched it out of his reach.</p>
<p>"Not so fast! You should let those cuts breathe a bit" </p>
<p>She sat back and motioned for him to do the same. Din leant back against the wall, arms folded over his chest, cross. </p>
<p>"Stop sulking" Peli said, busy washing the blood out of his helmet. "You know, you've got a nice face when it's not covered in blood. It'd be nicer still if you stopped scowling"</p>
<p>Din lifted his head slightly, surprised, but stayed quiet. He looked at Peli, really looked at her. She was a worthy friend, but he'd never really considered her appearance before. Was she attractive? She wasn't bad looking. Maybe not the conventionally pretty type like Cara Dune, but a nice enough appearance. Mature. Maybe if she had a bit of make up on..? He wasn't sure. She was distinctive, anyway. Looks probably weren't that important. She was strong-willed and independent and she didn't take any messing about from anyone - not even him. Plus, she was good with the kid. And she was kind, with a certain generosity about her. Those were good qualities. Attractive qualities, even. Weren't they?</p>
<p>She looked up from the helmet, smiling slightly, a knowing look in her eyes.</p>
<p>"How are you doing over there?"</p>
<p>Din simply raised an eyebrow. She looked at him, and then next to his head.</p>
<p>"You've got blood on the wall" she said. "Here"</p>
<p>She picked up the damp flannel and knelt up again. She leant close to him. Really close. As she leant over to reach the wall, her lips touched his - just for a moment. He froze, watching out of the corner of his eye as she wiped the blood off the wall. She moved back within seconds, gathering everything together and standing up.</p>
<p>"Stay there. I'll sort this stuff out"</p>
<p>Din didn't need convincing. He stayed where he was, lifting a hand to his mouth, touching his bottom lip with his thumb. It had happened so fast, he couldn't really be sure, but had Peli... Had she tried to <em>kiss </em>him? It could have been an accident - it hadn't been much, just her lips brushing his - but surely getting so close to him hadn't been necessary? He looked up at her when she came back from sorting the first aid things out. She raised an eyebrow at him.</p>
<p>"What?"</p>
<p>He shook his head slightly. He could he possibly ask her? If she <em>hadn't </em>meant to kiss him, it would be painfully awkward. And if she <em>had </em>meant to... Well, what would happen then?</p>
<p>"Which turbine is it?"</p>
<p>"...What?"</p>
<p>"You said one of your turbines needed looking at?"</p>
<p>"Oh... The left one, when you're facing the ship"</p>
<p>"I'll take a look in a minute"</p>
<p>She knelt down beside him, reaching out to run her fingers through his hair again. Din's breath hitched in his throat, but he fought not to react beyond that. He daren't enjoy it, not after... Well, he didn't really know what this was the aftermath of.</p>
<p>"I won't tell anyone, you know" she said. "This is just between us. If you like, we can act like it never happened"</p>
<p>Din nodded slightly, just a twitch of the head. Peli picked up his helmet. She looked at him carefully, as though taking in his appearance once last time, and then put it over his head. She stood up.</p>
<p>"I'll make a start on that turbine. You should go and pick up some supplies while you're here. Maybe take some painkillers too"</p>
<p>-</p>
<p>Din took Peli's advice. He retrieved Grogu from the sleeping area and headed into the city. </p>
<p>"Stop looking at me like that" he grumbled. "It wasn't my idea to shut you in there. It wasn't even for that long, so I don't know why you're so grumpy"</p>
<p>Grogu whined at him, his little brow furrowed.</p>
<p>"You just want something to eat, don't you?" Din sighed. "We'll pick up some essentials while we're here. Best behaviour, ok? God knows I've got enough to think about without you adding to it"</p>
<p>He looked back in the direction of the hangar, hardly comprehending what had happened. It already felt like a strange dream. He adjusted his helmet slightly and started walking. It was probably better that he didn't dwell on it.</p>
<p>Probably.</p>
<p>Grogu croaked and gurgled at him. Din tapped him on the nose.</p>
<p>"Don't look at me like that. You don't know anything"</p>
<p>That might not be strictly true: the child could have heard everything for all he knew. Not that there had been that much to hear after he'd hit the ground. Still...</p>
<p>-</p>
<p>Din decided it might be better to take it slow, but he managed to get everything he needed in record time. On second thought, maybe it would be better to leave sooner rather than later.</p>
<p>Peli was nowhere to be seen when he got back to the hangar. Her droids were still bibbing about, so at least he could conclude it wasn't for any untoward reason. He sat just inside the Razor Crest, bouncing a little rubbed ball against the wall and watching Grogu trying to catch it. He didn't have any success, and after a while he got cross, looking at Din indignantly. Din just laughed.</p>
<p>"It's just a game, kid" he said. "Here, you can have it"</p>
<p>He held the ball out to him. Grogu toddled up and went to take it, but Din snatched it out of the way at the last second. Grogu looked at him, confused.</p>
<p>"Sorry" Din smiled. "Here"</p>
<p>He held the ball out to him, and again snatched it away at the last second. The child squeaked and scowled, holding his arms up desperately for the ball.</p>
<p>"Aww, you want this?" Din said, holding it just out of his reach. "Go on. Take it"</p>
<p>Grogu stretched as tall as he could, but still couldn't reach it. He kept trying, starting to get cross again. Din took the opportunity to tickle the child's tummy, making him squeak and double up. Din kept tickling him, unable to help laughing. Grogu flopped onto his back, so he kept tickling him with one hand, dangling the ball over him with his other hand.</p>
<p>"Come on, Grogu. Take the ball. It's right here"</p>
<p>The child couldn't, of course: he was too helpless with laughter.</p>
<p>"You'll do him an injury if you're not careful"</p>
<p>Din stopped abruptly, scowling behind his helmet. Peli stood in the entryway, wiping her hands on an oily rag.</p>
<p>"How's the turbine?"</p>
<p>"Fine. You just had a bit of a jam. One of the spikes was catching. It wasn't a hard one to fix" she tilted her head at him when he didn't reply. "Are you listening?"</p>
<p>"I heard you" he reached into his pocket and threw her a pouch of credits. "Take what I owe and throw it back"</p>
<p>"You sure you trust me with that?"</p>
<p>"Do I have a choice?"</p>
<p>Grogu took advantage of Din's distraction, crawling into his lap and pulling himself up on his armour. Din put an arm round him, gave him the ball, and stood up. </p>
<p>"Did you mean what you said earlier?"</p>
<p>"Which bit?" Peli asked, handing the pouch back.</p>
<p>Din shook his head slightly. "It doesn't matter. I need to be going"</p>
<p>"Ok. You take care of yourself now" she smiled at Grogu. "You be good, little one. I'll see you again soon!"</p>
<p>Din held him protectively. Peli stood back and sighed, looking him up and down.</p>
<p>"I won't tell anyone" she said. "I wouldn't betray your trust. Like I said: I'm your friend, even if you're not mine"</p>
<p>Din swallowed, turning his head away.</p>
<p>"...I'm your friend too"</p>
<p>*</p>
<p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Please leave a comment if you can! Thank you so much for reading</p></blockquote></div></div>
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